The Altamont Enterprise - DEChttp://www.altamontenterprise.com/tags/dec
enArsenic, chromium, and copper to be removed from Railroad Avenue sitehttp://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/guilderland/02262014/arsenic-chromium-and-copper-be-removed-railroad-avenue-site
<div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">by <a href="/author/anne-hayden-harwood" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Anne Hayden Harwood</a></div><div class="field field-name-field-images field-type-field-collection field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-images clearfix" about="/field-collection/field-images/1699" typeof="">
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<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/IMG_7522.JPG?itok=fhPDk8h3" rel="lightbox[field_image][]" title=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/IMG_7522.JPG?itok=E-CfWqlK" width="300" height="113" alt="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-description field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>The Enterprise — Michael Koff</p>
<p><strong>Abandoned and hazardous: </strong>A dilapidated area of Railroad Avenue, in Guilderland, once the home of industrial warehouses, sits empty, and an investigation shows sections of chemical contamination from decades ago. One half-acre section, contaminated with copper, chromium, and arsenic, is slated to be cleaned up with the help of the Department of Environmental Conservation.</p>
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>GUILDERLAND — The state’s Department of Environmental Conservation has identified a site containing hazardous substances in Guilderland, and will hold a public meeting in March to discuss a potential remedy.</p>
<p>The site is a half-acre portion of an 8.8-acre property located at 54 Railroad Avenue, off of Fuller Road, and the soil there is contaminated with arsenic, chromium, and copper. It is listed as “Class 2” in the state’s registry of inactive hazardous waste sites, meaning action is required. </p>
<p>The registry describes the site this way: It was used from the early 1950s, until 1978, by lumber companies, which preserved wood by pressure treating it with chromated copper arsenate. The wood was then allowed to air dry on the site. In 1965, between 2,000 and 3,000 gallons of chromated copper arsenate spilled on the site when a pressure vessel was opened before it was pumped out. </p>
<p>Various buildings that were on the site have been removed, but concrete slabs, as well as broken asphalt, remain. A drainage swale on the railroad property slopes to the southeast, and stormwater at the site is collected and discharged into the swale, which is the property currently up for remediation. </p>
<p>The site was once investigated by the Voluntary Cleanup Program, but the program was never completed. In March 2007, the responsible parties were identified. According to Rick Georgeson, a DEC spokesperson for Region 4, there were four parties — Paulsen and Sons, Inc., Holbrook Lumber Company, Albany Miron Lumber Corporation, and Colonie Wood Treating and Stain Corp.</p>
<p>The four parties signed a consent order with the state in 2007 and paid a total of $910,000, said Georgeson. At that point, the site was referred to the State Superfund to complete remediation. </p>
<p>New York’s State Superfund Program identifies suspected inactive waste disposal sites that pose a significant threat to public health or the environment, and uses state funds to evaluate, clean up, and monitor the sites.</p>
<p>Soil sampling on the site revealed that contamination occurred as a result of off-site drainage, and that the vast majority of the contaminated soil is located within the first four feet, except in some isolated locations, where arsenic contamination extends up to 10 feet deep.</p>
<p>The proposed remediation plan would involve the excavation of the top 12 inches of soil, to be transported to a permitted disposal facility, and a 12-inch layer of clean soil would replace the soil that was removed. </p>
<p>According to Georgeson, the total cost of the project would be $469,000. A nearby area on the same parcel was cleaned up, using some of the funds from the responsible parties, within the past two years.</p>
<p>Georgeson said the remediation project would not pose a health threat to the surrounding community. </p>
<p>The DEC will hold a public meeting, on March 13 at the Town of Colonie Community Center, at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the proposed remedy. After the meeting, the DEC will accept public comments for a 30-day period.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Post date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">February 26, 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Tags: </h3><ul class="links inline"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/railroad-avenue" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Railroad Avenue</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/hazardous" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">hazardous</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-2" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/arsenic" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">arsenic</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-3" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/dec" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">DEC</a></li></ul></div><div class="easy_social_box clearfix vertical easy_social_lang_und">
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</div></div></div>Wed, 26 Feb 2014 22:47:53 +0000reporter2315 at http://www.altamontenterprise.comNo sporting licenses issued after Christmashttp://www.altamontenterprise.com/community/regional/12182013/no-sporting-licenses-issued-after-christmas
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joe Martens has announced that, beginning Thursday, Dec. 26, the public will not be able to purchase hunting, fishing, or trapping licenses, or secure a recreational marine fishing registration or report game that has been killed.</p>
<p>The temporary blackout period is due to a transition that DEC will undergo from the current computerized licensing system to a newly developed system and is expected to last approximately one to two weeks.</p>
<p>The contract with the provider of the current system ends Dec. 31 and that provider will no longer be in sporting license business, according to a release from the DEC; the new sporting license system is part of a larger multi-agency effort in New York State to consolidate licensing systems and help securing licenses.</p>
<p>Hunters, anglers, and trappers need to purchase their licenses, stamps, and permits prior to Dec. 26 in order to hunt or fish during the blackout period. Sporting licenses are available at nearly 1,500 locations across New York State, via telephone (1-866-933-2257) and via the Internet at <a href="//localhost/fgnyia/html/index.jsp">https://nyfgisales.appsolgrp.com/fgnyia/html/index.jsp</a>. For a list of license agents, visit DEC’s website at <a href="http://www.dec.ny.gov/permits/6101.html">http://www.dec.ny.gov/permits/6101.html</a>.</p>
<p>Hunters are required, by law, to report deer, bear, and turkey killed pursuant to a hunting license within seven days of taking the animal. During the blackout period, hunters will not be able to report their kills; however, they will be given a seven-day grace period to report once the new system is up and running.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Post date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">December 18, 2013</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Tags: </h3><ul class="links inline"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/hunting" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">hunting</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/trapping" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">trapping</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-2" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/fishing" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">fishing</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-3" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/dec" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">DEC</a></li></ul></div><div class="easy_social_box clearfix vertical easy_social_lang_und">
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</div></div></div>Thu, 19 Dec 2013 03:21:10 +0000admin1781 at http://www.altamontenterprise.comBig and small game hunting is underwayhttp://www.altamontenterprise.com/sports/regional/10092013/big-and-small-game-hunting-underway
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>New York’s estimated 823,000 hunters and trappers are officially returning afield for recreational hunting and trapping across upstate New York, according to Joe Martens, the state’s commissioner of environmental conservation. </p>
<p>Hunting and trapping are important management tools for several species, including deer, bear, beaver, and Canada geese, according to a release fro the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation. A recent national survey estimated that hunter expenditures on equipment and trip-related expenses in New York totaled more than $1.5 billion in 2011.</p>
<p>In 2014, the “NY Open for Fishing and Hunting” plan will begin; it is meant to streamline sporting licenses and reduce fees. </p>
<h3><strong>Big game</strong></h3>
<p>Bowhunting season opened in northern New York on Sept. 27 and the rest of upstate New York and Suffolk County on Oct. 1. A special muzzleloader season in Northern New York opens on Oct. 19, followed by the regular firearms season that opens on Oct. 26. Firearms seasons for deer in the Southern Zone of New York will open on Nov. 16.</p>
<p>New York’s second annual Youth Deer Hunt will occur in upstate New York over the Columbus Day weekend (Oct. 12 to 14). During this hunt, 14- and 15-year old junior hunters may take a deer of either sex with a firearm when accompanied by a licensed and experienced adult mentor.</p>
<p>Bear hunting season opened in the Adirondacks and the Champlain Valley on Sept. 14, and continues along with deer hunting seasons into early December. In portions of the Southern Zone, including the Catskills, Hudson Valley, and Southern Tier, bear hunting seasons opened on Oct. 1 and are generally the same as deer season, except for the Youth Hunt (which is for deer only).</p>
<h3><strong>Small game mammals</strong></h3>
<p>Many people begin their hunting experience with small game, such as squirrels, for which the season opened on Sept. 1, or cottontail rabbits, which opened upstate on Oct. 1; hunting seasons for squirrels and rabbits will open Nov. 1 on Long Island. </p>
<p>Coyote hunting season opened across all of upstate New York on Oct. 1, while seasons for other furbearing species (raccoon, fox, bobcat, and others) generally open on Oct. 25, when trapping seasons open as well. The areas open for bobcat hunting and trapping were expanded this year, and a special permit is required to take bobcats in those areas. Those interested in participating in the special permit program can contact a local DEC Wildlife office.</p>
<h3><strong>Upland game birds</strong></h3>
<p>Hunting seasons for a variety of upland game birds, including wild turkey, pheasant, ruffed grouse, and woodcock opened Oct. 1 in most of eastern New York (excluding Long Island; and in northern New York, grouse season opened on Sept. 20). Wild turkey and pheasant seasons open on Oct. 19 in western New York.</p>
<p>A special Youth Pheasant Hunt was held in eastern New York Oct 5 and 6, and will be held on Oct. 12 and 13 in western New York. On Long Island, the Youth Pheasant Hunt will be held on Oct. 26 and 27, followed by the regular season opening on Nov. 1. Pheasant stocking locations for public hunting are listed on the DEC website at <a href="http://www.dec.ny.gov/press/93322.html">http://www.dec.ny.gov/press/93322.html</a>.</p>
<h3><strong>Waterfowl</strong></h3>
<p>September Canada goose seasons have come and gone, but waterfowl hunters have plenty of opportunities to look forward to. Duck hunting seasons are set for five different hunting zones, with the earliest beginning on Oct. 5 in the Northeastern Zone.</p>
<p>Youth Waterfowl Hunts were held in late September for several zones. Canada goose seasons will re-open in most of upstate New York on Oct. 26.</p>
<h3><strong>Mentoring</strong></h3>
<p>Adult hunters and trappers are encouraged to pass along their traditions and become a mentor for a junior hunter or trapper. The junior hunter and trapper mentoring program allows 14- and 15-year-olds to hunt big game with a firearm and 12- to 15-year-olds to hunt big game with a bow while accompanied and supervised by an experienced adult hunter.</p>
<p>Unlicensed youth less than 12 years of age may also accompany and assist a licensed and experienced adult trapper. More details about these opportunities are available in this year's Hunting and Trapping Laws and Regulations Guide and on the DEC website: <a href="http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/46245.html">www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/46245.html</a>.</p>
<h3><strong>Hunter safety</strong></h3>
<p>All new hunters or trappers planning to go afield this upcoming hunting and trapping season mush first complete a mandatory hunter or trapper education course before they can obtain the appropriate sporting license. Training in safe handling of firearms and hunting is a legal requirement for anyone hunting in New York. </p>
<p>Courses are free to take and are taught by DEC-certified instructors. Although primarily offered for first-time hunters or trappers, anyone is welcome to attend a sportsman-education course, whether it is for a refresher or an interest of the topic. For more on basic hunting safety rules, go online to <a href="http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/9186.html">http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/9186.html</a>. </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Post date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">October 9, 2013</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Tags: </h3><ul class="links inline"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/hunting" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">hunting</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/dec" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">DEC</a></li></ul></div><div class="easy_social_box clearfix vertical easy_social_lang_und">
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</div></div></div>Thu, 10 Oct 2013 01:04:17 +0000admin1159 at http://www.altamontenterprise.comBKW garage drains wait for money http://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/hilltowns/08282013/bkw-garage-drains-wait-money
<div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">by <a href="/author/marcello-iaia" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Marcello Iaia</a></div><div class="field field-name-field-images field-type-field-collection field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-images clearfix" about="/field-collection/field-images/449" typeof="">
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<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/DSC03902_0.JPG?itok=VCjRGmQe" rel="lightbox[field_image][]" title=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/DSC03902_0.JPG?itok=2SG_Rs27" width="300" height="451" alt="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-description field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>The Enterprise file photo — Marcello Iaia</p>
<p><strong>Where will the water go?</strong> A bus is lifted inside the Berne-Knox-Westerlo vehicle bay where snowmelt and rain runoff collect on the floor — a problem that interim Superintendent Lonnie Palmer said he hopes to address before winter.</p>
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>BERNE — Considering engineers’ estimates ranging from $50,000 to $120,000, Lonnie Palmer, Berne-Knox-Westerlo’s interim superintendent, said Tuesday that he would be seeking less expensive, if temporary, ways of fixing bus-garage drainage problems before winter. Engineers have recommended replacing the entire concrete floor of the Berne-Knox-Westerlo vehicle bay, where snowmelt from school buses doesn’t drain properly and forms puddles.</p>
<p>“You could tell, with the amount of money they were asking, this is not a budgeted item,” said Mark Kellett, the district’s interim business official.</p>
<p>Palmer couldn’t provide details of a less costly option at this point. “It’d be too early for me to say. I’d have to go around to get an idea,” he said.</p>
<p>The school is undergoing emergency repairs to a library floor damaged when drains overflowed during heavy June rainfall. The total cost for the library repairs could reach $137,500 in emergency money from the district’s fund balance. Palmer expects the money to be reimbursed through an insurance claim that may not be settled for years.</p>
<p>The library repair project will be finished about a week after the Sept. 5 starting date for school, Kellett said.</p>
<p>Darlene Shrederis, a BKW bus driver and local unit president of the Civil Service Employees’ Association, told <em>The Enterprise</em> in November that the floor of the garage is pitched toward the center, but the drain has been cemented over, and its holding tank has been removed. Mechanics are at risk using power tools near the puddle, she said, so sump pumps are used to drain the graywater into roadside ditches when buses accumulate snow.</p>
<p>Palmer, who started at BKW in June, said he hasn’t seen the problem but understands it as “more of a nuisance than a risk.”</p>
<p>The $100,000 to $120,000 cost of the replacement project, proposed by Schafer Engineering Associates in a May report, includes an oil-water separator required by the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation. </p>
<p>A second, less expensive option from Schafer would be to cut the existing floor in order to install drains and piping. This would cost between $50,000 and $75,000, the report said.</p>
<p> “This option will not take care of the current slab settlement, adequate slab thickness, and positive slope drainage issues. Maintenance crews will likely still need to squeegee standing water toward the new floor drains,” the report says, adding that standing water could damage the concrete where it had been cut.</p>
<h3><strong>Tax rates</strong></h3>
<p>Voters approved the 2013-14 budget in May with the same $10.89 million levy as last year. The school board approved the levy amount at its Aug. 12 meeting.</p>
<p>The BKW district lies in parts of seven different towns; each assesses property for its tax rolls. Tax rates changed with equalization rates set by the state to account for the differences among municipalities between their total assessed and market values.</p>
<p>The equalization rate for New Scotland, for example, is 100 percent, meaning property is assessed at full market value. At the other end of the spectrum, the equalization rate for Westerlo is 1.01 percent, meaning, since Westerlo hasn’t had a townwide property evaluation in decades, parcels are assessed at a fraction of their full market value. This means tax rates — what individual property owners pay — for New Scotland are the lowest and Westerlo’s are the highest. The other towns fall in between, with equalization rates ranging from 61 percent (in Rensselaerville) to 83 percent (in Wright).</p>
<p>In the BKW school district, the tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value for 2013-14 is:</p>
<p>— $30.01 in Berne, or 1.89 percent higher than last year;</p>
<p>— $32.44 in Knox, or 1.40 percent lower than last year;</p>
<p>— $20.11 in New Scotland, or 1.89 percent higher than last year;</p>
<p>— $32.97 in Rensselaerville, or 0.22 percent higher than last year;</p>
<p>— $1,991.07 in Westerlo, or 2.15 percent lower in than last year;</p>
<p>— $28.73 in Middleburgh, or 1.02 percent lower than last year; and</p>
<p>— $24.23 in Wright, or 3.02 percent lower than last year.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Post date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">August 28, 2013</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Tags: </h3><ul class="links inline"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/tax-rates" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">tax rates</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/taxes" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">taxes</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-2" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/engineers" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">engineers</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-3" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/dec" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">DEC</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-4" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/bus-garage" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">bus garage</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-5" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/drainage" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">drainage</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-6" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/budget" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">budget</a></li></ul></div><div class="easy_social_box clearfix vertical easy_social_lang_und">
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</div></div></div>Thu, 29 Aug 2013 00:50:58 +0000reporter683 at http://www.altamontenterprise.comBichteman oversees hydrofracking reporthttp://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/hilltowns/08222013/bichteman-oversees-hydrofracking-report
<div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">by <a href="/author/marcello-iaia" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Marcello Iaia</a></div><div class="field field-name-field-images field-type-field-collection field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-images clearfix" about="/field-collection/field-images/391" typeof="">
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<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/DSC07366.JPG?itok=WF9moAvA" rel="lightbox[field_image][]" title=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/DSC07366.JPG?itok=cetyY5NZ" width="300" height="199" alt="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-description field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><strong>Printed but not accepted:</strong> Councilman Anthony Sherman pages through a report compiled by Westerlo's committee to study hydraulic fracturing when it was first given to board members in May. The board voted in a later meeting to reject the report, which is now supposed to be revised.</p>
</div></div></div> </div>
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>WESTERLO — Six months ago, town resident Dianne Sefcik spoke of an improperly closed-off committee preparing a report on hydrofracking for the town. She has now been invited to revise the document, and <em>The Enterprise</em>’s appeal to its denied request for the report has been granted.</p>
<p>Town board member William Bichteman was unanimously designated the town’s Freedom Of Information Law appeals officer at the Aug. 6 board meeting. Later, board member Alfred Field said Bichteman was heading a committee to revise the report.</p>
<p>Bichteman was appointed to the town board in February, when Sefcik first spoke publicly, saying the committee had violated the Open Meetings Law and was biased.</p>
<p>Sefcik has said Westerlo should not allow hydraulic fracturing — the resource-intensive process of fracturing underground shale for natural gas — citing its risk to the environment. Westerlo sits on the northeastern part of the Marcellus shale, which has been mined for natural gas in other states.</p>
<p> Field, a town board member, refused to continue his work with the committee as it revises the report, and voted against Bichteman’s motion in July to have the town board reject the document and have it revised.</p>
<p>At the August meeting, Bichteman said he would need time to ask other people who worked on the report of their interest to “redo or modify the existing report.”</p>
<p>“I think the things I pointed out were not gray areas,” Bichteman told <em>The Enterprise</em> after the August meeting. He has said the report is biased, difficult to read, and, in one instance, “not factual.”</p>
<p>In his response letter to the appeal from <em>The Enterprise</em>, Bichteman deemed the report accessible under the Freedom Of Information Law. He wrote that the request wasn’t denied, “but rather you were advised that since the town was in the process of reviewing the report, it would not be offered to the public until a determination was made by the Town Board as to whether to accept or reject the report.”</p>
<p>Sefcik has given the board an analysis of the report, a list of zoning and planning self-assessment questions, and a collection of sources that could be used in the revision process that she estimated could take months.</p>
<p>“I think it has to be substantially rewritten,” Sefcik told <em>The Enterprise</em>.</p>
<p>The 137-page report, dated for April 2013, has sections focused on the economic impacts and process of hydraulic fracturing. Several sections address the potential health and safety impacts, focusing on the chemicals used, risks to water supplies, and radioactivity. One section reviews state and federal regulations governing hydrofracking.</p>
<p>In her letter, Sefcik notes that the report is inconsistently formatted and rarely describes information and potential impacts specifically for Westerlo.</p>
<p>Nearly a third of the 117 pages that make up the body of the report is excerpted and summarized from the Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement on the Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Regulatory Program issued by the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation.</p>
<p>The board voted on July 25 to extend a year-long moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in the town. The local law notes that state regulations on the process are not final, and describes the town committee’s role as assembling “factual and scientific information” on hydrofracking. It says the town board needs more time to determine the impact of potential state regulation and, if necessary, to amend the town’s zoning law to address hydraulic fracturing.</p>
<p>In May, a decision from an Appellate Division court, the middle level in the state’s three-tiered system, said town bans on hydrofracking are not pre-empted by state law. Dryden and Middlefield, the towns involved in the cases, have gas drilling and exploration listed as prohibited uses in their zoning laws.</p>
<p>“My view is this: that hydraulic shale gas extraction, or hydrofracking, cannot be proven safe in New York State, that local governments are the last hope of protection that we have for the vital resources we all share, and that the town has a very limited amount of time left to enact protective legislation,” Sefcik said during the February meeting.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Post date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">August 22, 2013</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Tags: </h3><ul class="links inline"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/hydrofracking" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">hydrofracking</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/report" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">report</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-2" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/foil" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">FOIL</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-3" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/oml" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">OML</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-4" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/open-government" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">open government</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-5" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/appeal" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">appeal</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-6" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/dec" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">DEC</a></li></ul></div><div class="easy_social_box clearfix vertical easy_social_lang_und">
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</div></div></div>Thu, 22 Aug 2013 06:26:04 +0000reporter644 at http://www.altamontenterprise.comDEC seeks help tracking Asian beetles in swimming poolshttp://www.altamontenterprise.com/community/community-news/regional/07282013/dec-seeks-help-tracking-asian-beetles-swimming-pools
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Pool owners are invited to join the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in its second annual Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) swimming pool survey now through Aug. 30 in order to help keep watch for these exotic, invasive beetles before they cause serious damage to forests and street trees.</p>
<p>The Citizen Pool Survey takes place this time of year, when the beetles are expected to become adults, emerge from the trees they are infesting, and become active outside those trees.</p>
<p>Originally from Asia, they have caused the death of hundreds of thousands of trees across the nation, particularly in maple trees in New York City; on Long Island; in New Jersey; Chicago, Ill.; Worcester, Mass.; and Clermont, Ohio.</p>
<p>Pool monitoring offers a simple, economical alternative to traditional procedures for surveying ALBs in the state, according to a release from the DEC. It also has the potential to become New York’s most effective method for detecting ALBs. In addition, this monitoring program gives residents the ability to take an active role in protecting trees in their yards, communities, and forests. </p>
<p>With citizens involved in looking for this pest, there is a better chance of finding new infestations early, which will help DEC and other state and federal agencies focus their efforts to eliminate infestations. </p>
<p>In addition to a owning a swimming pool, participants will need a digital camera; an e-mail address that is actively used (if they want to receive updates from DEC); and the ability to upload a photograph and send it via e-mail.</p>
<p>Those without a pool can still help. This year, the DEC expanded its photo collection to include anyone who spots a suspect beetle, whether it is found in their pool or not. Residents are also encouraged to submit photos if there is suspicion of an emerald ash borer or another invasive pest damaging native ash trees. Photos may be submitted to: <a href="http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7253.html">http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7253.html</a>. </p>
<p>How to help</p>
<p>Directions for participating in the pool survey are outlined below:</p>
<p>— Step 1: From July 23 to Aug. 30 (when adults are active), at least once a week, or when you clean your pool, check the debris collected in your filter and skimmers; </p>
<p>— Step 2: Look for the ALB. Once an e-mail is provided, a sheet will be sent to you to help identify insects collected. See: <a href="http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7255.html">http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7255.html</a>;</p>
<p>— Step 3: Take a picture of any insect you think might be an ALB; </p>
<p>— Step 4: Once a week, send a photo of the insect that looks most like an ALB. The DEC would like to hear from you once a week; </p>
<p>— Step 5: Send the photo to <a href="mailto:foresthealth@gw.dec.state.ny.us">foresthealth@gw.dec.state.ny.us</a>;</p>
<p>— Step 6: Freeze the insect in a plastic container until DEC staff respond (typically that will be about a week). Staff will either instruct you to discard the insect or give instructions on mailing it, delivering it, or arranging for pick-up. </p>
<p>To sign up for the survey, please contact: NYSDEC Forest Health Program, Attention: Jessica Cancelliere; e-mail <a href="mailto:foresthealth@gw.dec.state.ny.us">foresthealth@gw.dec.state.ny.us</a>; or call 810-1609.</p>
<p>For more information about the Asian longhorned beetle: <a href="http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7255.html">http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7255.html</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Post date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">July 28, 2013</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Tags: </h3><ul class="links inline"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/dec" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">DEC</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/survey" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">survey</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-2" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/asian-long-horned-beetle" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">asian long-horned beetle</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-3" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/swimming-pools" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">swimming pools</a></li></ul></div><div class="easy_social_box clearfix vertical easy_social_lang_und">
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</div></div></div>Sun, 28 Jul 2013 15:34:24 +0000admin322 at http://www.altamontenterprise.com